Lifting handles for beer barrel

ABSTRACT

A beer barrel having a pair of handles for the lifting thereof. A pair of spaced apart and parallel rings extend circumferentially around a circular beer barrel main body spacing the main body apart from a supporting surface as the barrel is rolled on its side. A pair of handles are pivotally mounted to the main body adjacent one of the rings. The handles in a retracted position are located between the main body and the outer periphery of the rings. The handles are pivotable to a horizontal lifting position with stops provided preventing further upward travel of the handles. Spring means mounted to the handles return the handles to the retracted position when released.

United States Patent Billman Apr. 16, 1974 LIFTING HANDLES FOR BEER BARREL Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay

Assistant Examiner-Doris L. Troutman [76] Inventor. Luke N. Billman, RR. 1, Box 410, Attorney, g or Firm woodard, Weikart, Em

Monrovia, lnd. 46157 hardt & Naughton [22] Filed: Dec. 26, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 318,222 [57 ABSTRACT I A beer barrel having a pair of handles for the lifting [52] US. Cl 220/72, 16/126, 220/94 R; thereof. A pail, of spaced apart and parallel rings 220/9 tend circumferentially around a circular beer barrel main p i g the i apart from a p [58] held of ggg 1 porting surface as the barrel is rolled on its side. A 7 5 DI pair of handles are pivotally mounted to the main body adjacent one of the rings. The handles in a re- [56] References C'ted tracted position are located between the main body UNITED STATES PATENTS and the outer periphery of the rings. The handles are 779,230 H1905 Melson et al. 217/72 pivotable to a horizontal lifting position with stops 2,767,424 10/1965 Knuepfer r 16] 126 provided preventing further upwardtrav f th b 644,! I9 2/1900 Witt 220/72 dlesh Spring means mounted to the handles return the handles to the retracted position when released.

9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures LIFTING HANDLES FOR BEER BARREL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is in the field of handles.

2. Description of the Prior Art Beer barrels are provided with a pair of circumferentially extending rings to facilitate the rolling of the barrels. It isdesirable to provide a beer barrel which also has handles to facilitate the lifting of the barrel. The handles-must be positioned inwardly of the rings in order to not prevent rolling of the barrel. Disclosed herein is a beer barrel having handles positioned between the beer barrel main body and the outer periphery of the roller rings extending circumferentially around the main body. Thus, the barrel disclosed herein may be rolled on its side in the traditional manner and may also be lifted by the handles.

A number of patents have been granted on various types of handles'The US. Pat. issured to Koll No. 2,715,243 discloses a handle which is returnable to its original position by a spring. The U. S. Pat. Nos. l,506,694 and 2,444,056 issued respectively, to Toffey and McCarl disclose handles mounted to a barrel or can. Two other US. patents of interest are the U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,527,012 issued to Regan and 3,207,359 issued to Heisler.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the present invention includes the combination of a barrel having a cylindrical main body with a pair of spaced apart and parallel roller rings extending circumferentially around the main body defining an imaginary cylinder within which the main body is positioned, the barrel when rolled on its side across a surface having the main body spaced apart from the surface by the rings, and a first handle and a second handle pivotally mounted to the main body adjacent one of the rings being pivotally movable from a first position adjacent the main body to a lifting position extending horizontally from the main body, the first handle and the second handle being sized to not project outwardly of the imaginary cylinder when in the first position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a beer barrel having handles thereon.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved beer barrel.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beer barrel having retractable handles positioned between the beer barrel main body and the roller rings of the beer barrel.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a beer barrel incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged side view of the handle 14 shown in FIG. I.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged side view of a beer barrel incorporating another embodiment of one of the handles shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged cross sectional vie looking along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a beer barrel 10 having a cylindrical main body with a pair of spaced apart and parallel roller rings 11 and 12 which extend circumferentially around the beer barrel main body. The major diameter of the beer barrel is positioned at the center portion 15 with the major diameter being smaller than the diameters of rings 11 and 12. Mounted to the main body are a pair of handles 13 and 14 to facilitate the lifting of the barrel. When rolling the beer barrel on its side across the supporting surface, rings 11 and 12 support the beer barrel main body with the center portion 15 being in spaced relationship to the supporting surface. The main body of the beer barrel along with rings 11 and 12. and handles 13 and 14 are positioned within the imaginary cylinder 55.

Handle 14 will now be described it being understood that a similar description applies to handle 13. Handle 14 includes a pair of plates 21 and 22 fixedly secured to the beer barrel main body. A pair of ribs 26 and 37 are integral with and extend from respectively plates 21 and 22. The opposite ends 24 and 25 of handle rod 23 are pivotally mounted to an extend through, respectively, ribs 26 and 27. Ends 24 and 25 are provided respectively, with a pair of stops 34 and 35 which are positioned to contact bosses 32 and 33 extending outwardly respectively from plates 21 and 22 when the handle is pulled upwardly to a horizontal position. As a result, handle rod 23 may not be pivoted upward past the horizontal position since stops 34 and 35 will contact bosses 32 and 33. The helical spring 28 has an inner end fixedly secured to rib 26 and an outer end fixedly secured to the end of handle rod 23. Likewise, helical spring 29 has an inner end 31 fixedly secured to rib 27 and an outer end 30 fixedly secured to handle rod 23. Helical springs 28 and 29 will return handle rod 23 from the horizontal position when released to a retracted position as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, when the handle rods are released, the handle rods along with the remaining portions of the handles will be positioned within the imaginary cylinder 55 formed by rings 11 and 12 thereby allowing the beer barrel to be rolled across a supporting surface on its side without interference from handles 13 and 14.

Another embodiment of the handle is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Handle 40 is identical to the handles 13 and 14 with the exception that bosses 32 and 33 are not provided on plates 42 and 43. Instead, stops 48 and 49 mounted to handle rod 41 contact ring 11 when handle rod 41 is pulled to the upward position 51 (FIG. 4). Plates 42 and 43 are provided with ribs 44 and 45 which pivotally receive the opposite ends of handle rod 41. Likewise, a pair of helical springs 46 and 47 are provided to return handle rod 41 from the horizontal position to a retracted position adjacent to the beer barrel main body. As shown in H0. 4, the outer periph ery of ring 11 secured to main body 16 is indicated by dashed lines 52 which is positioned outwardly of the most outward portion of the handle indicated by dashed lines 53 which in turn is outwardly of the position 54 of rib 45.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination:

a barrel having a cylindrical main body with a pair of spaced apart and parallel roller rings extending circumferentially around said main body defining a imaginary cylinder within which said main body is positioned, said barrel when rolled on its side across a surface having said main body spaced apart from said surface by said rings; and

a first handle and a second handle pivotally mounted to said main body adjacent one of said rings being pivotally movable from a first position adjacent said main body to a lifting position extending horizontally from said main body, said first handle and said second handle being sized to not project outwardly of said imaginary cylinder when in said first position.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein:

said first handle and said second handle each have a stop thereon preventing travel of said first handle and said second handle upwardly beyond horizonml.

3. The combination of claim 2 and further comprisspring means on said first handle and said second handle operable to return said first handle and said second handle from said lifting position to said first position when released.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein:

each handle includes mounting means secured to said main body and a handle rod pivotally mounted to said mounting means with said stop located on said handle rod, each handle rod is positioned adjacent one ring so said stop will contact said one ring preventing upward travel of said handle rod beyond horizontal.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein:

said mounting means includes a pair of spaced apart plates for each handle which pivotally receive opposite ends of said handle rod.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein:

said spring means includes a first helical spring mounted to said first handle and a second helical spring mounted to said second handle, each helical spring has one end fixed to one of said plates of said mounting means and an opposite end fixed to an end of said handle rod normally urging said handle rod to said first position.

7. The combination of claim 4 wherein:

each handle includes mounting means secured to said main body and a handle rod pivotally mounted to said mounting means, said mounting means includes a stop surface arranged to contact said stop to prevent upward travel of said handle rod beyond horizontal.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein:

said mounting means includes a pair of spaced apart plates for each handle which pivotally receives ends of said handle rod.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein:

said spring means includes a first helical spring mounted to said first handle and a second helical spring mounted to said second handle, each helical spring has one end fixed to one of said plates of said mounting means and opposite ends fixed to an end of said handle rod normally urging said handle rod to said first position. 

1. The combination: a barrel having a cylindrical main body with a pair of spaced apart and parallel roller rings extending circumferentially around said main body defining a imaginary cylinder within which said main body is positioned, said barrel when rolled on its side across a surface having said main body spaced apart from said surface by said rings; and a first handle and a second handle pivotally mounted to said main body adjacent one of said rings being pivotally movable from a first position adjacent said main body to a lifting position extending horizontally from said main body, said first handle and said second handle being sized to not project outwardly of said imaginary cylinder when in said first position.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein: said first handle and said second handle each have a stop thereon preventing travel of said first handle and said second handle upwardly beyond horizontal.
 3. The combination of claim 2 and further comprising: spring means on said first handle and said second handle operable to return said first handle and said second handle from said lifting position to said first position when released.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein: each handle includes mounting means secured to said main body and a handle rod pivotally mounted to said mounting means with said stop located on said handle rod, each handle rod is positioned adjacent one ring so said stop will contact said one ring preventing upward travel of said handle rod beyond horizontal.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein: said mounting means includes a pair of spaced apart plates for each handle which pivotally receive opposite ends of said handle rod.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein: said spring means includes a first helical spring mounted to said first handle and a second helical spring mounted to said second handle, each helical spring has one end fixed to one of said plates of said mounting means and an opposite end fixed to an end of said handle rod normally urging said handle rod to said first position.
 7. The combination of claim 4 wherein: each handle includes mounting means secured to said main body and a handle rod pivotally mounted to said mounting means, said mounting means includes a stop surface arranged to contact said stop to prevent upward travel of said handle rod beyond horizontal.
 8. The combination of claim 7 wherein: said mounting means includes a pair of spaced apart plates for each handle which pivotally receives ends of said handle rod.
 9. The combination of claim 8 wherein: said spring means includes a first helical spring mounted to said first handle and a second helical spring mounted to said second handle, each helical spring has one end fixed to one of said plates of said mounting means and opposite ends fixed to an end of said handle rod normally urging said handle rod to said first position. 